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The flavour of Kolkata

Kolkata Maidan- The lungs of the city. Lovingly shot by Arindam Patra.

Saturday, August 01, 2015

A new recruit and a welcome development at Mohun Bagan

Have been feeling like coming back on football after the ISL final post, especially Mohun Bagan, but things were not falling in place. I was keenly following its I-League journey and was ecstatic after the historic league win, still couldn’t make it to a post.

Of late, liked Mohun Bagan’s new defender recruit- Gustavo Silva Conceicao, the six feet plus 29-year old robust stopper back from Brazil, who has played for Flamengo, a top league club in the country. The pictures of his first day practice at his new club ground earlier this week released on the Mohun Bagan Facebook page generate hope that in the upcoming Calcutta Football League (CFL) he will be the nightmare of the opponent in the defence. Cheers to his remark in the Times of India interview that in terms of fan base he finds Mohun Bagan on a par with Flamengo and that’s one of the main reasons that made him decide in favour of the club.

Gustavo Silva in practice as eager supporters look on

Gustavo Silva

More cheers to the new development- re-start of merchandise sale after years. Famous clubs all over the world have it for ages, and it’s a pity that possibly no big club in Bengal has sustained it. So far I’m aware, Mohun Bagan pioneered it here, but couldn’t continue. East Bengal followed but met the same fate. Hope this one continues forever. The severely cash-strapped club desperately needs additional revenue sources, and if judiciously and smartly planned and implemented, merchandise can become a significant revenue earner for the club thanks to its massive fan base. Enquiries are already pouring in on its FB page on whether they are being sold online, whether there are outlets in the city etc.

Currently four products are available- T-shirt (Rs 350), coffee mug (Rs 200), key ring (Rs 35) and wrist band (Rs 30)- only from the club tent. The t-shirt definitely looks tempting.

All merchandise

The Mohun Bagan t-shirt up for grabs

Hope the fans lap them up and add style to their fandom.

Looking like some smart moves are being made by the club management of late. The merchandise followed the well implemented ‘VIP stand seats for sale’ at Salt Lake Stadium in the last I-League. The ticket included a sumptuous treat including fish fry and sandesh. Looking forward to the same this CFL apart from some good football.

Pictures are acknowledged to the Mohun Bagan Facebook page.

#MohunBagan #KolkataFootball # GustavoSilva #MohunBaganmerchandise

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